1. Field of the Invention
This present invention relates to a hand-held, battery operated, appliance for use in the bath or shower of the type having interchangeable rotatable cleansing attachments and more particularly to a soap dispensing cleansing attachment for use with such an appliance.
2. DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART INCLUDING INFORMATION DISCLOSED UNDER 37 CFR 1.97 AND 1.98
Non-mechanical hand-held devices for dispensing fluids, such as cleansing agents, for example the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,684 issued Jan. 15, 1980 to Avery, entitle “Fluid Dispensing Unit” are known in the art. The Avery device consists of a handle made of flexible material that houses a fluid reservoir. A porous pad is fixed to the underside of the handle. In order to dispense the fluid, the sides of the handle are squeezed forcing the fluid from the reservoir into the pad. However, that type of device does not have the capability of rotating the pad as the fluid is dispensed and therefore does not have the cleansing and massaging capabilities of a mechanical device.
Hand-held, electrically driven mechanical massaging and cleansing devices that are capable of rotating a scrubbing element such as a brush or pad are also known in the art. Some of those devices include fluid dispensing capability. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,841 issued Jul. 15, 1997 to Groenewald et al. and entitled “Motor-Driven Hand-Held Massaging Device” discloses apparatus for body massage with a plurality of rotating brushes carried on a housing with a grip part. The grip part has a storage chamber for massaging fluid that is fed to the individual brushes at controllable intervals.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,108 issued Jan. 9, 2001 to Knight entitled “Electric Back Scrubber Brush” discloses a device with an elongated handle and a head assembly including an electric motor for rotating a detachable brush head. The handle has a reservoir for soap that is dispended through a tube the end of which is situated adjacent the brush head.
Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0265043, published Dec. 30, 2004 entitled “Rotary Brush with Soap Dispenser” discloses a device similar to Knight in that it has a motor-driven brush assembly coupled to a handle but differs in that it is not portable because it is connected by a hose to receive water under pressure. In this device, the handle includes a compartment for a cleansing agent that is periodically delivered to the brush head by pumping action.
However, none of these devices includes a detachable rotating head with a porous cleansing pad attached to a housing having a fluid reservoir and means for controlling the amount of fluid dispensed at the head is rotated.